Degrassi: The Breaking Point
by Fictionfairy189
Summary: It's a new school year at Degrassi and Ariel & Eli Goldsworthy are in for one hell of ride. But will all the drama and overwhelming baggage lead these two to their ultimate breaking points?
1. Dead Glasses

**Degrassi:**

**The Breaking Point**

**By Fictionfairy189**

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><p>*<em>I do not own Degrassi or any characters except Ariel<em>

_Which happens to mine =)*_

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

**Dead Glasses**

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><p>Heavy metal music was pouring out of the new black hearse on campus as its number one passenger shunned it all out with the upbeat tunes of Pink.<p>

"Ladadadada, ladadadada, ladadada, dada, ladadada," Ariel sung, bopping her head side to side. "Alright sir, sure I'll have another one it's early. Three olives shake up I like it dirty."

"What the hell are you listening to over there?" Eli raised his eyebrow while steering Morty towards the parking lot.

Ariel looked over at her brother and removed her headphones. "Something I like to call a little bad influence." She smiled before putting back on the music-blasting headphones.

Eli rolled his eyes and cranked up the volume of the metal music. "Well I hope this won't bother you."

"_Damn it Eli!" _Ariel thought while cutting her eyes at her obnoxious brother. She turned off her iPod right before noticing something was ran over by Morty. She looked around the path and only saw two girls who looked incredibly stunned.

"Nice driving Einstein," Ariel muttered sarcastically.

Eli shot his sister a look before stepping out of the hearse. The girl with the cute curly bob stood there while Eli reached down by Morty's tire to pick up her smashed glasses.

"I think they're dead." He handed the glasses to the curly-headed girl.

"Uh, it-it's okay. I, uh, don't need them anymore. I got laser surgery," The girl said with a slight blush.

The conversation went dead for a second before Eli broke the silence. "You have pretty eyes," He grinned.

The curly-headed girl looked down and grinned. "Thanks. So I guess I'll see you around?"

"I guess you will," Eli replied before climbing back into the driver seat of his hearse. Ariel was in complete shock as they took off. Words couldn't even make out what she saw, she just only knew.

"Oh my knicker noodles! Eli, what was that back there?" She nearly jumped with excitement.

"No need to be lying on cloud nine, sis. Nothing's going to happened here at Degrassi, I told you that."

Ariel sighed. "I know, but this is a new start for us. When we left our old school, we were suppose to leave all of our overwhelming baggage behind and not bring it along with us. That was the plan, why aren't you sticking to each?"

Eli pulled into an empty parking space with no words to be spoken. He cut the engine off and lied back in his sit.

"Because sometimes," He paused, "you might have too much baggage to let go of. And it just sits there on your shoulder, weighing you down with no way of getting it off."

Eli studied the steering wheel while placing one hand on top of it. "Sometimes, I wish I could just take back everything I'd did. Then maybe I wouldn't feel like—,"

"Alright, just stop! Stop it right now." Ariel plugged in her ears. "You are _not_ and I repeat _not _going to do this here. I understand this is the atmosphere for mourning and all that emo crap, but we have school to go to and I refuse to be late because of the remorse of your dead ex."

Ariel gathered all her things and opened the car door ready to get out. She looked over at her frozen brother and frowned.

"Come on, I didn't mean it like that. I just wish you would let go of the past Eli and move on." She apologized.

Eli sighed heavily and said, "Whatever, just don't ever try to apologize again. You suck at it."

"Well give me credit for trying," She grinned. "Now come Emo boy, Degrassi awaits!"

After another sigh, Eli grabbed his backpack and got out the hearse. Ariel walked over to his side and gave him a hopeful smile. Eli returned the smile and soon the two of them were heading off to main entrance of their new school known as Degrassi.

Meanwhile, a girl of a rather quirky appearance shadows the Goldsworthy siblings from afar— watching and observing their every move.


	2. Better Off Rejected

**Chapter 2**

**Better Off Rejected**

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><p>The crowd was pumped up by the music and non-stop excitement. Students were up on their feet dancing and having a good time as the power squad stood there and watch.<p>

_Ha-ha, in their faces!_ Ariel thought to herself. Ariel was of course celebrating as well by dancing and clapping her merry way on over to the girl who got this rally all started.

"This is so awsome," Ariel shouted trying to speak over the loud music.

"I know right!" Ali shouted back while still moving to the beat. Everybody was dancing; Sav, Dave, the kid with funny afro were all dancing. Even some of the football players were tapping a toe or two.

Clare, the girl who had her glasses ran over by Morty, was jumping and smiling without a care in the world. Ariel envied that about her although she hardly knew her. Thankfully for her the rally was cut short by Degrassi's student body President Sav Bhandari. He announced it was time for the pep rally to end and for the game to begin.

Ariel wandered back over to the bleachers and took her sit at end of the row, away from everyone else. She noticed how everyone had their place next to a friend. Even the funny afro kid had his place.

Ariel tried to hold back the pity that was overwhelming her. It was too hard for her to with stand— seeing everyone with their buddies, laughing and cheering along the panthers side by side. That's what Ariel wanted the most, but sadly for her she had doubt that nobody will accept her, or at least her unstable settings.

Coach Armstrong blew the whistle and the game was on. Jocks of brilliant blues and gold began to pack the field as the opposing team followed. Everyone was rooting for the panthers, except Ariel.

She just sat there with her long black hair blowing in the wind. While Ali was busy cheering on Drew, Clare noticed Ariel sitting all alone. She frowned and nudged Ali.

"Hey, maybe we should invite Ariel to come sit with us. She seems so lonely down there." Clare turned towards Ariel and faced Ali again.

Ali looked over at Ariel, then at Clare, then back at Ariel and back at Clare.

"Are you serious? Clare, do you know how much that could mess up my social status? I mean, I'm probably raging with popularity right now."

"Is that all you can think about right now, popularity. What about those who aren't so out there in the world, they do get lonely to you know." Clare narrowed her eyes at Ali.

"Well boo-hoo for them. It's not my fault for them being social rejects." Ali mocked.

Clare rolled her eyes and said, "And says the girl who got rejected from the power squad and her own club."

Clare grabbed her bag off the bench and left, only leaving her best friend Ali with no words to say. She made her way down to Ariel who was still sitting by herself while watching game.

"_What a waste,"_ She thought, looking down at the palm of her hands.

"Hey, is this sit taken." Clare smiled, motioning her hand towards the bench.

Ariel snapped out her illusion of boredom and replied pretty tremulously.

"Um, n-not at all," She shook her head.

"Thanks," Clare said, sitting down beside the baffled Ariel. "So, are you new here?"

Ariel looked up and began to speak rather nervously. "Y-yeah, I'm new— newer than you even know." Ariel frowned.

"Well, welcome aboard the S.S. Degrassi! I'm Clare, Clare Edwards."

"I'm Ariel, Ariel Goldsworthy."

"Really? I'm sure you wouldn't happened to be related to—,"

"Eli Goldsworthy? Yeah, I happen to share the same blood as him."

Clare chuckled. "Well there's no arguing with that fact."

"You know it," Ariel smiled.

Clare and Ariel laughed as Ali watched from the top of the bleachers. She was glaring down at the two, scowl after scowl. Dave and Wesley, who were sitting right below Ali, caught a glimpse of her during their constant cheering.

"Hey what's wrong with Ali?" Wesley asked, pointing back at her.

Dave looked back at Ali and looked towards Clare who was happily sitting beside Ariel.

"Uh, I don't know, but I wouldn't even bother." He replied before tuning back into the game.

"Well maybe we should go see what's wrong." Wesley suggested, nearly turning around.

"Hey-hey man, don't do that. You do not want to get involved in that girl drama. Trust me."

Wesley looked back at Ali one last time before agreeing with Dave and tuning back into the game. Ali remained stuck in a pit of jealousy and anger as the game continued on. Her best friend, Clare, was no longer concerned about her. Instead she was having a blast with the social reject known as Ariel Goldsworthy.

"_So that's the way it's gonna be, huh Clare? Well just you wait." _Ali thought while crossing her arms and plastering a grin across her face.

"_Because I don't need you or that social reject," _She paused, looking over at Bianca who swore she wasn't going to show up at the game. _"I have all the friends I need."_

The tensions were high as the Eagles and the Panthers were at neck and neck. The time was dwindling down by the seconds with only KC left to deliver the final touchdown.

"Five, four, three, two, one," Ariel counted down anxiously. "Touch down!"

The crowd went wild as the Panthers took home the victory. Jocks of bright blues and yellows tossed their helmets up into the air while the cheerleaders began to cheer. The other team, however, were pretty pissed off. Off to the side one of the team players kicked the Gatorade container while shouting,

"Screw you Panthers! You pee-wee babies got lucky!"

Ariel and Clare looked at each before busting out laughing. "Well someone certainly needs anger management classes." Clare said in between her laughs.

"Please, he needs more than anger management. He needs therapeutic help."

Both the girls were still laughing as Ali and Bianca strolled up in front them. Clare immediately noticed the lack of sun shining on her and looked up. Ariel did the same, but was completely unaware of what was going on.

"Um, can we help you with something?" Ariel said, rising to her feet.

"Uh, from you— not so much," Bianca smirked, placing her hand on her right hip.

"But, I just wanted to let you know Clare I don't need a ride home from you. Bianca already has that covered." Ali butted in, trying to sound all big and bold.

Clare tapered her eyes at Ali. "You cannot be kidding me." She roused to her feet. "Is this kind of way of getting back at me for telling you off early, because—,"

"No Clare, this isn't a plot for revenge. Let's just say I'm getting more out there into the world."

"And you choose her to start with?" Ariel commented, looking Bianca up and down.

Bianca widened her eyes in disbelief. "I just know you're not talkin' o' Miss Mary Mack. What did you do, drown yourself in black and called it a day?"

Ali snickered as Ariel started to turn red. Clare looked over at her with worry. Bianca tapped Ali on the shoulder and said, "Well I loved to stay for the pity party, but we have to go."

As Bianca started for the park lot, Ali hanged back with a haughty grin across her face.

"Well I guess I'll talk to you later Clare," She remarked before prancing away. _"Or not."_

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><p><em>* Remember to comment &amp; subscribe! And chapter 3 will definitely be submitted ASAP. So stay tuned =)*<em>

_XOXO - Fictionfairy_


	3. Better Off Anywhere

**Chapter 3**

**Better Off Anywhere**

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><p>The smell of a new school day was in the air as the hype about the Panther's victory filled the halls of Degrassi. Eli and Ariel were entering the building and departing their separate ways. Ariel searched about the crowd of students passing her way, looking for Clare. A girl with buddy holly glasses and two pig tails watched her anonymously from behind the staircase. Ariel couldn't find Clare through the massive flock of kids, so she headed straight to her blue locker beside the water fountain.<p>

As she walked down the halls, Ariel couldn't help but feel she was being followed. She took a quick peek from behind her shoulders and saw no one, except the faces of a thousand strangers. She shied out instantly for she could not bear facing those she'd never met before. She clutched her black messenger bag and picked up on her speed.

Imogen, the anonymous stalker of the Goldsworthy siblings, came out from hiding in an empty classroom and continued to follow the lonesome Ariel. She couldn't help but feel so interested in Ariel and her brother, it was like discovering life on Mars. However, she knew she had to keep her distance until the time was right, well right.

"Here you are locker 269." Ariel sighed in relief. "I was being to think you got up and ran away."

"Um, I'm pretty sure the lockers here are well set, so you won't ever have to worry about that catastrophe." Clare chuckled from behind.

Ariel turned around as a bright, bubbly smile began to appear across her face. "Clare!" She shrieked, extending her arms towards Clare. "I was looking for you earlier, but I didn't see you. I was beginning to think you got clasped out by the screaming, fanatic crowd back there."

Clare chuckled lightly. "No, my mom just dropped me off late," She explained. "Lots of family drama that I do not wish to discuss at the moment. So what class do you have next?"

Ariel reached in her messenger bag and pulled out her crumpled up schedule. "Let's see, I have Tech class with Ms. Oh. How about you?"

"I have honor English. Hey, isn't your brother in that class?"

"One could only know," Ariel joked. "But yeah, he is. He's the one in all black with the whole I'm-so-emo gig."

Clare laughed with a faint blush on her cheeks. "Well I have to keep an open eye out for that," She smiled. "Hey, do want me to walk you to class?"

"Uh, sure. That'll be great," She grinned. "I just have to put something in my locker first."

Ariel opened up her locker and dug into her bag for her iPod. She placed it on the top shelf and closed it, but forgot to lock it. She and Clare started off down the hallway while Imogen was by her locker watching the whole time. She looked directly at Ariel's unlocked locker and headed straight for it. She looked over her shoulders nervously for she felt she would be caught. She slowly opened Ariel's locker and grabbed her iPod. She studied the rest of her locker before closing it.

She stuck the iPod in her bag and carried on as if nothing happened. She figured if she was going to get anywhere in this school, why not start off with a stranger's iPod and see where that gets her.

"Come on stupid computer," Ariel grumbled, wiggling the mouse around. "Work already!"

The media class was quiet with the exception of a few babbles and giggles. Ariel, who was having a hard time with her computer, was angry and frustrated. Connor, who sat across from her, couldn't help but notice her undying frustration towards the computer.

"Uh, are you alright over there?" Connor asked.

Ariel tapered her eyes at Connor. "Uh, could you like stay out my bees wax?" She smarted off.

"Sorry, I was just... wondering." He shrugged.

Ariel rolled her eyes and finally gave up dilly dallying around with the computer. She then looked over at Connor.

"Listen, I'm sorry," She sighed. "I'm just having a minor malfunction with this hunk of machinery over here."

"Well maybe I could help. I mean, I am good at computers, so…"

"Great! Come on over here…," Ariel paused. "Uh, what's your name?"

"Connor."

"Mines Ariel, nice to meet you my new tech partner." Ariel smiled.

With that being said, Connor was sitting beside Ariel— helping her with her computer. In the back of the class, Wesley and Dave were watching Connor assist the new girl.

"Woo, check out Connor and the new girl Wes." Dave motioned towards the two. "Didn't know he had it in him."

Wesley looked away from his monitor and was completely flabbergasted. "Connor and Ariel? Together? No way." He shook his head looking over at Dave. "Impossible, she has to at least twenty steps out of his league."

Dave grunted, bouncing on his green ball. "Please, she's nowhere past his league," He smirked. "According to Ali, she just made the list of Degrassi's top ten losers. So far she's ranking as number one."

"Hey, don't you think that's kind of harsh? I mean, who would come up with such a thing?"

"A'man that's girl drama. I only hear what I'm able to receive."

Wesley rolled his eyes and continued researching. As for Connor and Ariel, things were going quite smoothly for the two. After the last five minutes of class went by, the bell rung and everyone was up and out the door. Ariel thanked Connor for his help and started gathering her stuff. Dave walked up to the two with an arrogant grin on his face.

"So Connor, you found yourself a new lady friend?" Dave crossed his arms while checking out Ariel. "Because I got a whole bunch I could set you up with other than the ones who walk around lookin' like the bride of Frankstein."

Ariel narrowed her eyes at Dave, feeling offended. "Well at least Frankstein has a woman versus the one who just can't seem to get one." She smirked before exiting the media room.

Connor stood by snickering while Dave turned around and stared at dark-headed loner. "Damn, that girl gotta a lot of mouth. Too bad she can't put all that talk into action," Dave spoke out.

"But she does have a point though," Connor commented, leaving Dave side.

Dave thought for a second and rolled his eyes. "Hey, I promise Ali will be mine by the end of the week, just you wait."

"Ugh, I can't believe Ms. Dawes stuck me with Eli as my English partner, no offense Ariel." Clare looked over her C graded English paper.

"Mmm, none taken," Ariel gratefully smiled while taking bite out of a banana dipped in ketchup. "Mmm, this is so good. You have to try this Clare."

"Uh, no thanks. I think I'll just stick to plain old bananas dipped in chocolate instead."

Ariel shrugged as the lunch crowd was beginning to pour into the cafeteria. Ali and Bianca, the so called bad girl dual, came strutting past Ariel and Clare. Ali narrowed her eyes at the two while Clare just shook her head. She had no idea what gotten into her best friend. Ever since she started hanging out with Ariel, Ali's been despising her. Maybe she was just jealous about her new friendship with Ariel.

Clare was beginning to feel a bit guilty about abandoning her friend, even though she kind of dissevered it.

"Clare? Earth to Clare, come in," Ariel teased in order to gain her friend's attention.

Clare snapped out of her thoughts and grinned. "Oh, s-sorry. I must've zoned out there for a minute."

"Let me guess, the spell of badass Bhandari and DeSousa caught a hold of you or something?" Ariel mocked.

Clare shook her head and frowned. "No, it's just I can't stand seeing Ali acting like that. I mean, I've known her for the longest and to just see her walk again with Bianca acting like a stuck—,"

"Bitch who just wishes to fit in anywhere. Yeah I know that feeling." Ariel interrupted while dunking a large piece of banana in some more ketchup.

"Not exactly how I would put it, but yeah." Clare sighed. "I just wish she could see that fitting in isn't the only thing that matters."

Ariel sat there and nodded. Clare's words were starting to get to her as she started to think about how much she wanted to fit in herself. So far she noticed just about everyone had their place. The cheerleaders had their squad; the jocks had their team; even the nerds had their league. Ariel was just a complete outsider with only one friend by her side, Clare.

But sadly she felt even Clare will soon slip away, just like her dearest friend Julia. Ariel tried not to sink any deeper into self-pity for she knew Clare would grow suspicious of her mood.

"Uh, Clare why don't we move onto more optimistic topics like… music," Ariel suggested.

"Music, really?" Clare sighed before trying to pull off a smile.

"Yeah, sure, why not? Everyone loves music! What's your favorite kind?"

Clare thought for a second and started calling out all her favorite tracks and artists. Ariel tried to stray interested, but was slowly fading away. So for the last five minutes of lunch, she had to withstand the ongoing babbling of Clare as a distraction from what she was trying to avoid the most, not being alone.


	4. Writer's Block

**Chapter 4**

**Writer's Block**

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><p><strong>AN: I know I haven't updated in a long, long time, but I've been super busy with other matters. I do plan on finishing this story. I'm just not sure how long it will take. Writing is really time consuming... Anyways, enough of my chatter. Enjoy my reader :)**

It was half past four on Ariel's Mickey Mouse clock. It was almost time for her to leave and head on over to Clare's house. She was going over Clare's house to study and help her with her paper. There was no way she was going to leave a friend with the same quality work she's been handing in for days. If only she had a sense of deep pain or fury to channel her writing then maybe she would out do Eli.

"Baby girl, you want something to eat before you leave," CeCe knocked on the door.

Ariel rummaged through her bag, looking for her iPod. "Uh, no CeCe," She replied.

"Are you sure, because we don't want to have another episode like—,"

"Mom, I'm fine so just drop it," Ariel interrupted.

Cece sighed and entered her daughter's room. "Well someone seems on edge in here. Is everything alright baby girl?" She frowned while taking a sit on Ariel's bed.

Ariel huffed before facing her mom. "Nothing's wrong, alright. I'm just having a hard time finding my stupid iPod." She rubbed her forehead.

"Maybe you left it in Morty or—,"

"No, I had it this morning when I first went to my locker then," Ariel trailed off as her phone started to buzz by her pillow.

CeCe picked it up and read the caller id. "Clare, who's Clare," She grinned handing Ariel the phone. Ariel slightly snatched it away and eyed her mother, hoping she wouldn't go all dramatic about her new friend.

"Clare's my… friend at school, but that doesn't mean anything for life. We all saw how that turned out last time." She explained before answering the call. Ariel greeted while motioning CeCe to leave the room. CeCe hesitated for a moment then sighed. She got off the bed and left the room, leaving the door cracked open.

Ariel took a breath of relief and continued her conversation with Clare. After the call ended, Ariel immediately plunged herself to ground and started digging underneath her bed. She wasn't in search of her lost iPod, but for some buried food.

She dug up a bag of potato chips, a bottle of pop, and a half open bag of trail mix. She gazed down at the stored food, just craving every last bit of it. She picked up the half opened bag of almond trail mix and took out one nut from the package. She held it up to her mouth, ready to consume, but then she hesitated and dropped the small, crisp kernel.

"I can't, I just can't," Ariel mumbled to herself. She slid the horde of food back under bed and rose from ground. She started pacing around her room, trying to fight the urge to eat. Every since she started middle school, Ariel has dealt with the fears of under and over eating. When she was in sixth grade, kids would pick on her about her weight and appearance. She didn't let the teasing get to her at first, but between the cruel locker room jokes and rumors, it was enough to make Ariel crack.

She ended up skipping school for two weeks just to avoid being teased or mocked. She ate nothing but a half of bag of chips along with some water each day. At home, she would lock herself up in her room and just draw awful sketches of herself. Everyone at school saw her as the anorexic nobody dressed in black, so what was stopping her from seeing it too?

After slowly rising above the thrust for food, Ariel regained her composure and headed out the house. She grabbed her bike and took off down the street with her bag on her shoulder. It was within fifth teen minutes she arrived at Clare's house. She hopped off her bike and headed straight for the front door. She rang the doorbell, hoping somebody would answer.

"Just one minute," Clare said, racing down the staircase. She was working on her paper for Ms. Dawes. It wasn't quite finished or in depth.

Clare answered the door with a half smile on her face. "Hey Ariel, come in." She gestured, holding the door open for her. "I'm so glad you made it. This paper is driving me crazy!"

Ariel grinned. "Well there's nothing a little sanity can't do for you. Come on let me see your paper."

"Alright, but please don't judge it too harshly. I'm still working out the kinks." Clare and Ariel went upstairs to Clare's room where her laptop laid flat on her bed. From a distance, it looked as if Clare wrote an entire novel. Hundreds of words filled the white page on her monitor. There wasn't a single one miss spelled or left out.

Ariel dropped her bag near the door as her eyes were still fixed on Clare's laptop. "_Man, this girl can type._" She thought. "So I'm just going to assume writing is your—,"

"My life," Clare interrupted shutting the door. "Writing is my life. I love doing it; I wouldn't give it up for anything." Clare looked down at the ground, slowly walking towards the bed. "Not even for my parents…" Clare trailed off. She lifted her head up and faced the door, nearly frowning.

"Wow, that's kind of… deep," Ariel said, "Is everything alright with you and your parents?"

Before Clare could get a straight answer in, some mild yelling broke out in the hallway. Ariel was baffled by the sound. Clare, on the other hand, just sat and listened. This sort of thing has been going on for weeks now. Clare's parents were bickering and fighting over the smallest of things. At first it was just petite disagreements, but now it was full blown confutation. Clare thought it would all just blow over soon and they could go back to being a happy couple. But _soon_ was not coming soon enough.

"Are those your parents yelling?" Ariel pointed at door. Clare sighed and nodded. She wasn't in the mood to talk about it. She just wanted to get her paper done and get the hell out of there.

The arguing had died down outside and Clare started working on her paper. She turned the computer around so Ariel could proof read what she had so far. All of it was good, but it just didn't appeal to Ariel. The subject was too bland; Teen Drug Abuse. It sounded like an article found on those troubled teen websites. Sure it was pretty informative, but it wasn't anything Ariel hadn't heard before in health class.

"Well, you have nice structure," She complimented with a grin. Clare groaned with her head sinking into hands. She shook her head in frustration.

"Ugh! Ms. Dawes was right; my writing sucks." Clare sighed. "Maybe I should just scrap it and start all back over. But I'll be up all night trying to get past my writer's block. Ariel what do I do?"

Ariel glanced down at the computer and eased her eyes at Clare. "Come on, your writing does not suck. It just needs a little bit of _you_ in it."

Clare narrowed her eyes at Ariel. "What do you mean?" She asked, turning the laptop back around.

"What I mean is add your own perspective. Voice your opinion on teen drug abuse what we can do to stop it."

Clare took Ariel's suggestion into consideration while analyzing her work. Ms. Dawes did say her writing was distant, so maybe she needed to grow closer to her writing. "Yeah, I think that might work Ariel, Thanks."

"Nah, don't mention it." She smirked.

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><p>The next day at school, Ariel and Clare were in the computer lab touching up on their assignments. Before Clare could let Eli look at paper for class, she had to throw in a few <em>extra<em> words.

"What are you smiling about?" Ariel grinned, glancing over at Clare's computer screen.

Clare looked up and replied, "I'm just adding some pizzazz to my work. I want to make a better impression on Dawes and Eli."

"Well good luck with that!" Ariel stuck two thumbs ups before continuing her research.

Outside the computer lab, Ali was hanging out with Bianca. Ali kept glancing over at Clare with a fake smile on her face. On the outside, she didn't' care less about her former best friend, but on the inside she was falling apart. Something in the back her head told her to go apologize to Clare and Ariel, but Bianca in presents prevented her from doing so.

"I guess I'll see you later Bhandari." Bianca clutched her bag and walked off. Ali watched as Degrassi's queen bee strutted down the hallway. She wasn't sure what it was, but part of her really admired Bianca. The way she appeared so confidently and bold made Ali want to be more like her.

Before Ali could walk away, she noticed Drew coming down the hallway with some of his friends. The sight of him made Ali anxious and excited at the same time. Whenever he was around there was something inside that made her go crazy for him. She didn't want to be naïve, but Drew was more than a high school crush.

Strolling past Ali as if she was never there, Drew and his posse were rating every girl who walked past them in the hall. Ali remained quiet and hidden like a shy little girl. She scolded herself for being so timid. If only she had the guts to go up and talk to Drew. Before she could work up the courage to approach him, Dave came up to her with a small grin.

"_Dave not now." _She whined to herself.

"Hey Ali, what's up," He said leaning against the lockers. He tried to make eye contact with Ali, but she kept looking over her shoulder at Drew. He turned his attention over to the obnoxious jock who was goofing off with his buddies. Dave sneered at the sight. Why was Ali so interested in him? Dave knew he was a better catch than Drew. Sure he wasn't Mr. Hotshot, but he certainly had he charm. He tried to grab Ali's attention once more by clearing his throat.

"Um, Ali did ya forgot about me?" He joked with a familiar grin.

Ali snapped out of whatever daydream she was in and smiled at Dave. "Oh no of course not. Why would I do that?" She said trying to be friendly.

Dave shook his head and jumped to a new subject. "So watcha doin' tonight?" He folded his arms, hoping to himself Ali would say nothing.

Ali stared blankly at him for a brief moment before cracking a slight grin. She really didn't have anything planned tonight and her parents weren't going to be home for the evening so she could probably come up with something. "Well, now that you mention it I might be having a small get together. My parents won't be home tonight so anything goes," She said, already planning out all the details in her head. She looked back at Drew one last time before facing Dave again. "And you're welcomed to come. Just be sure to bring some chips and don't forget the dip."

Ali placed her hand on Dave's shoulder and smiled. He returned a flirtatious smirk before she sauntered away. He knew this was chance to step it up with Ali. By the end of the night, he would have his arms around his Bhandari and Drew would be the last thing on her mind. Dave grinned to himself.

Things were definitely going to change tonight.

**Review :)**


	5. The Big Bhandari Bash

**Chapter 5**

**The Big Bhandari Bash**

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><p><strong>AN: I felt that the ending was a bit rushed when I was writing this so please forgive me on that. Anyways, enjoy :)**

"I can't believe you're going to Ali's party tonight!" Clare whined.

"I can't believe you and Eli skipped class earlier." Ariel fired back. She wasn't in the mood to explain why she was going. Even though Ali was acting like a little bitch towards her, Ariel couldn't resist showing up to the Big Bhandari Bash. She figured if she showed up, it might boost up her reputation or at least get her noticed. Clare on the other hand thought it was a ridiculous idea. If she didn't go with Ariel, the poor girl wouldn't stand a chance.

"C'mon Ariel, you can't be serious," Clare said with concerned eyes. She stopped in the middle of the hallway and pulled Ariel over to the side. Ariel could tell Clare didn't approve of her attending tonight's party. There was a small voice in the back her head that didn't support it either.

"Clare you worry too much. If you're so nervous about me going than come with me." Ariel suggested. Clare shook her head. She couldn't go because she needed to retype her English assignment. Earlier when she skipped class, Eli suggested she should write about something that pisses her off and her parents were the first things that crossed her mind.

"I can't, I have to redo my paper for Ms. Dawes," Clare said with a hint of regret in her voice. She saw the hurt in Ariel's eyes as she tried to come up with something to brighten her mood. "But I could try speed typing."

Ariel's face lit up like the sun. She was overjoyed about Clare going with her tonight. She knew she could've asked for a better friend than Clare Bear.

She smiled as she leaned over to hug Clare. Clare on the other hand was caught off guard by her sudden embrace. She managed to pull off a fake smile as a rush of doubt filled her mind. She wasn't completely sure if she was even going to finish her paper tonight let alone make it to Ali's party.

Regret was starting to surface inside the young writer's mind. What would happen if she didn't show up? Would Ariel hate her forever? Would she ever be able to forgive herself if something had happened to her vulnerable friend? Clare tried to push aside all her worries, but they continued to show up anyways.

"Now promise me you won't show up too late, Edwards." Ariel grinned, releasing Clare from her hold. Clare grinned uneasily and sighed.

"I promise."

* * *

><p>Everybody was arriving at Ali Bhandari's place while a few others had already started partying their heads off. Ali was by the door greeting everyone as she kept her eyes peeled for the blue-eyed jock. Dave, on the other hand, had his eyes on Ali and he was ready to make his move some time tonight.<p>

Ariel arrived in a black skirt and a short sleeved black and white striped top that caught several party goers' attention. She was exposing more skin than she ever had in the past. No matter if it was confidence that drove her to wearing such an outfit, Ariel didn't care about being the center of attention tonight. After all she did came to get noticed.

"Wow, Ariel you look amazing!" One girl complimented, passing by the dark-haired loner. Ariel received several more flattering comments from her peers that evening. She felt so good about herself. She never once thought about how she appeared. She was perfectly fine with who she was for the first time in years.

The party was starting to kick itself up a notch as the upbeat sound of pop music streamed through the Bhandari household. Ariel was searching around for Clare as she kept remembering her promising to not show up late. She was growing anxious by the second.

What if Clare stood her up? Who was she going to hang out with for the rest of the night. Ariel was feeling nervous about being around all her classmates. She kept scolding herself for being so timid. If only she had Julia by her side to pull her out of her shell than maybe she wouldn't be such a loner.

Giving up on her search for Clare, Ariel sat on the living room couch where a couple was making out while Drew and two other jocks were playing Guitar Hero on the flat screen. Ariel sneered at the couple before turning her head away.

_"Ugh, can't you two go suck each other faces somewhere else." _She thought. The couple reminded her of Eli and Julia when they were making out in the living room. She would complain to them about their constant display of public affection.

_"Could you two go find some where else to have your make out session?" Ariel folded her arms, glaring at the two lovers._

_"You're just jealous," Eli teased while holding Julia in his arms. _

_Ariel rolled her eyes. "Please, like I'm jealous of you two." _

_Julia chuckled softly. "Just wait until you have a boyfriend than you'll see what you've been missing out on." _

_Ariel narrowed her eyes at the dark-haired girl cuddled up with her brother. Julia's words pissed her off big time. Even though she didn't mean any harm, Ariel didn't take it lightly. _

_"Yeah, whatever." She rolled her eyes once more before heading up stairs to her room. _

Ariel shook away the memory and turned her attention towards the good looking quarter back rocking out on the guitar. She observed him as a smiled appeared on his face after beating another guy's high score. A smile had grown on her face while watching Drew celebrate his victory.

Ariel got a good look at his blue eyes before he caught hers gazing at his. Ariel immediately looked another direction. Her cheeks were turning red as her stomach began to flutter. She tried to hide her face with her dark hair, but the superstar jock was still able to see it as he approached her.

While feeling terribly shy on the inside, Ariel was able to pull off a small grin as Drew stood before her. She sat up from the couch as the quarter back spoke out.

"Hey, I couldn't help but notice you checking me out back there." Drew said, gesturing towards the crowd surrounding the flat screen. "Did you enjoy the show?"

Ariel knees were starting to grow weak as she tried to put together a decent sentence. "Uh, as a matter of fact I did." She said nervously. Drew chuckled before introducing himself to Ariel.

"I'm Drew, Drew Torres; Quarter back of the foot-"

"-ball team. Yeah I figured that." Ariel interrupted.

"Now what makes you say that?" Drew smirked as his interest in Ariel continued to increase. He managed to keep good eye contact with the timorous girl standing in front of him.

"Well for starters you carry a football everywhere you go."

"And cheerleaders carry their pom-poms everywhere they go." Drew mocked. "Your hobby doesn't have to define who you are."

Ariel rolled her eyes. "I never said it did," She said flirtatiously. Drew's smirked turned into a full blown smile as he continued to converse with Ariel.

Ali, who stepped into the living room with Dave by her side, was completely shock to see Drew talking to the loner known as Ariel Goldsworthy. She felt a rush of jealous run through her. This was not happening. This was her party she threw for her to get close to Drew. Not for some petite little wallflower to steal him away.

Growing angrier by the minute, Ali decided to channel her fury towards a game of Never Have I Ever. She glanced back at Dave and whisper something into his. Within the next second, he was gathering everybody from around the house and leading them to the living room.

"Everybody listen up! We're about to get a round of Never Have I Ever started, so whoever wants to play come gather around coffee table." Ali announced, cupping her mouth. A couple of the party guest took part in the game while others sat back and watched.

Drew and Ariel made their way to the coffee table where there was only two more spots left for them. Ariel wasn't so sure about playing since she had no idea what it was. She looked around the table and examined her eager competitors. Ali, the one she despised the most, looked as if she was up to something. This was not a good idea after all. Ariel wanted to get up and leave, but the game had already started.

"The rules of the games are simple. A person is suppose to say something they never did and if someone did that, they have to take off an article of clothing," Ali explained, glancing over at Drew and Ariel. Drew smirked and went first.

"Never have I ever stolen a car," Drew confessed eyeing everyone around the table. Everybody was as still as a rock until one guy broke the ice. He removed his watch and grinned at Drew. He turned his eye over to Ariel and winked.

"Maybe I could come pick you up some time." The blonde guy joked as everyone started to laugh. Ariel was debating on whether or not they were laughing at her. She leaned her head a bit not wishing to never to find out. Ali eyed the timid loner before calling her out.

"It's your turn, Ari." Ali said in a teasing manner. Ariel shot her face up the moment she heard her. She narrowed her eyes at Ali and smirked.

"Never have I ever sexed." Ariel continued to eye Ali as she heard some bangles and belts coming off around her. Ali hesitated to take off her earrings for a moment and then she caught Drew's eye. She grinned and slipped them off with ease.

"Obviously," She muttered loud enough for everyone to hear. Ariel turned over to Drew who was snickering beside her. She shot a heavy look at him.

_"What the hell are you laughing at? I don't see that shirt coming off." _Ariel thought.

After the girl with freckles sprinkles across her cheeks went, it was finally Ali's turn. She studied everyone in sight and thought about what she going to say.

"Let's see," She said biting her lower lip. She glanced up at Drew for the fifth time which bothered Ariel a bit. "never have I ever told a lie."

Dave's face lit up as he noticed Ali take off the belt around her skirt. "Ali, you're only suppose to take off something if you've done it." He tossed his cap onto the center of the coffee table.

"Well I think I just did," She mumbled with her eyes still locked on Drew. Dave shook his head and grinned.

"There are definitely no saints at this table," He said as Drew laid his golden watch down on the pile of clothing.

"Got that right," Drew replied smiling over at Ali.

The heat was rising between Drew and Ali as the game progressed. Old players had thrown the towel in while new ones joined in. As for Ariel she was in it to the very end. She refused to give in to Ali's little charade. She might have only been down to her skirt and tank top, but wasn't willing to back out now.

"Never have I ever liked a person in this room," Drew said. Ali and a few others shed off a piece of clothing and tossed it into the pile. Ariel was up next and she sure to break Ali with this one.

"Never have I ever sent naked photos of myself." Everybody went silent for the moment. Ali was paralyzed in shock. How the hell did Ariel know that? Ali bet Clare might have already told her about Ali's boy-crazy past. She could feel her cheeks starting to burn from embarrassment. She started to slowly remove her top when out of nowhere a girl with buddy holly glasses joined in.

"I would like to play," She smiled while taking a sit across from Ariel. Ali was relieved by the sudden interruption and agreed for the mystery girl to play.

"Never have I ever stolen anything," The girl lied. She tossed Ariel's missing iPod onto the coffee table. She glanced over at the bewildered loner.

Ariel grabbed her iPod and tapered her eyes at the quirky, scene girl. "You don't say," Ariel spat before quitting the game. She rose off the ground and grabbed her belongings before heading out the door.

The mystery girl followed after her. She called Ariel names, but it didn't have any affect on her. She didn't want to be bother right now. She had enough for one night. She just wanted to go home.

* * *

><p><strong>D<strong>**on't forget to review & subscribe!**


	6. Can't Avoid it Forever

**Chapter 6**

**Can't Avoid it Forever**

**A/N: Holy crap it's been what 4 years since I touched this, but I couldn't avoid it forever :) This is just a short chapter I found on my computer and decided 'hey I should really get back to writing that story'.**

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><p>The next day at school felt like a mystery to Ariel. She wasn't sure what was about to happen the next. Was she ever going to speak to Drew again? Would she encounter that girl who took her iPod? Most importantly, what was going to say when she saw Clare? She did say she would try to make it to the party, but sadly she never showed up.<p>

"Party too hard last night?" Eli taunted. "Mom didn't hear you come in last night. She was freaking out until you showed your face in the morning."

Ariel narrowed her eyes at her brother. "No I did not party _too_ _hard_ and what do you mean she was freaking out? I thought mom and dad could care less about what we did. Plus, she didn't even bother to check my room. I was in there you know."

"Yeah after midnight. They could care less if they weren't worried about you and your… you know," Eli replied, staring gravely into his sister eyes.

Ariel looked away. She felt uncomfortable about bringing up the subject, let alone having others make it their concern. It was her problem and she didn't want anybody else butting in. Besides, the last thing she needs is somebody over hearing her talk about her eating disorder and spreading it like wildfire throughout the school.

"Okay, I know. Can we just drop the topic please?" Ariel sighed while looking side to side. She wanted to look down and cover her face in shame.

Eli exhaled deeply. "Fine, but you can't keep avoiding it. See you later."

"Thanks for the reality check, bro." Ariel folded her arms as she watched Eli go down the hallway. He glanced back at her with a smirk and continued on. As hard as it was to accept it, the reality was just that. She couldn't avoid it forever. Ariel held her folded arms close to her body as she walked down the noisy, crowded halls.

"_Just forget about it Ariel. You're under control. You can make it through this!" _Ariel thought. _"Just have to make it through Algebra first."_

* * *

><p>"What do you think?" Clare asked nervously. She was up all night typing and revising her paper last night, trying to make it interesting enough. Somewhere in the back of her mind wanted to leave it as it was, but she refused to let up. Hopefully it turned out decent.<p>

"Uh, you have nice structure that's for sure," Eli nodded his heading, taking a bit out of his apple.

Clare threw her head back in frustration. "Are you kidding me? Ms. Dawes was right after all." She placed a hand over her forehead. "I-I spent all night rewriting and editing it. I was sure it was good."

"Were you sure or did you keep telling yourself that?" Eli asked, handing Clare back her paper.

Clare sunk her head into her hands, pondering over the question.

"You know you don't have to hand it in," Eli simply suggested.

"And tell her what? That the dog ate my homework?" Clare dryly remarked.

"Or you could just take off."

Clare raised an eyebrow. "You mean skip again? I can't just runaway from every piece I write." Clare took in a deep breath and held onto her paper reassuringly. "I just have to accept it."

Eli nodded his head and shrugged. "Your call, Edwards. Just don't make a fool out of yourself when you present."

The thought of skipping didn't seem so bad to Clare after finding out she would have to read her work to the class. If she stayed she would take the risk of turning in a shameful paper along with explaining why she couldn't make it to the party last night. Then again, if she skipped class, she wouldn't have to worry about either of those things. Unfortunately, she would have a guaranteed detention on her hands.

The bell had rung and students were starting to pill into the class.

Pondering over the thought no longer, Clare stayed put at her desk. The bell had rung and anxiety had taken over her. _Just relax, Clare. It won't be as bad as you think. _

Ms. Dawes walked into the classroom and stood in front of the class with a coffee mug in hand. She smiled at her students, but had her focus on Clare. "Ah, there you are Ms. Edwards. Nice to see your face today. Would you mind sharing what you wrote to us?" Ms. Dawes had opened the floor up for Clare and all she had to do was stand up, walk down the aisle, say what she had to say, and sit back down. Easy, but it took a thousand pushes of encouragement to get Clare out of her chair.

"Uh-," She uttered, awkwardly.

"Tongue-tied?" Eli turned around from his desk and muttered. "Go on."

Clare blinked her eyes and held on tightly to her paper. She rose from her chair and crept up to the front of the class. She closed her eyes and pretended that Eli was the only one in the room. She felt more comfortable and sure. She took a breath and hoped that all her hard work would pay off.


End file.
